Chapter Text
Steve didn’t know what he would walk back into at the Barton farmhouse. Truthfully, he’d worked himself up coming back. Natasha had been texting him updates. While they appeared to be upbeat, saying Bruce was eating and Tony had actually gotten him to laugh, Steve wasn’t naive enough to believe that was all there was to the story.
So, when he walked in, he’d been expecting something quite sombre. What he hadn’t expected was Tony sitting on the floor in the lounge room with Bruce on his lap, still wrapped in the old sweater, watching Sesame Street.
‘I’ve never cared for Elmo,’ Tony was saying, head cocked to the side, as he watched the puppets sing something about the letter E. ‘The only thing going for him is the colour red. Nothing beats hot-rod red.’
Bruce’s head bopped along to Tony’s voice but he was obviously enraptured by the show. Eyes glued to the screen, he half bounced out of rhythm to the tunes playing.
The movement brought home the littleness of Steve’s miniaturised teammate.
They needed some answers as to what happened and how they were going to reverse it. At the moment though, they needed to get Bruce comfortable then work out a game plan on what needed to be done next.
‘My, this looks like a fine gathering,’ Thor smiled, voice softer than the volume he usually spoke at.
Bruce froze, eyes snapping to the two of them in the entrance way. He paled and hunched away, whole body trembling. If it wasn’t for Tony’s arms on his sides, Steve was sure he would have fled.
‘Hey, hey, it’s okay,’ Tony soothed. He glanced over at Steve and made his eyes go up and down.
Steve got the signal instantly and kneeled down to make himself a smaller threat. Thor slowly copied him.
It didn’t calm Bruce though. He watched them with open terror, too scared to hide and too scared to look away. His trembles changed to shaking and he began to gasp. It sounded scarily like he was going into a seizure. There was no recognition in his face. Nothing but fear.
Natasha appeared to materialize out of nowhere. Crouching down, she began to murmur things in Russian.
‘Vse v poryadke, dorogaya. Nikto ne prichinyayet vam vreda. Nikto ne prichinyayet vam vreda. YA ne pozvolyu im.’*
She kept on going, brushing the backs of her fingernails along Bruce’s cheeks. Initially Steve didn’t understand the movement but he got it after a few seconds.
The longer nails. Bruce was extremely tactile and would be able to pick the difference between the male touch to the female. At the moment, he needed to know more than ever there was a woman nearby.
He couldn’t understand why she chose to speak in Russian though. It wasn’t like the language held any familiarity to Bruce so perhaps she was just doing it in a panic.
When Tony joined in with some Italian though, Steve finally realized.
‘Questo è tutto, Bubba. Calmati. Sei al sicuro Ti ho preso. Prometti, ti ho preso,’* Tony murmured, voice the same soothing low as Natasha’s.
The unfamiliarity of it was the point. Bruce was experiencing a flashback upon seeing two large men. Natasha and Tony were trying to jolt him back to the present with something never said around him as a child. Make him remember where he was now, not what used to happen to him back then.
Painfully slowly, it began to work. Natasha and Tony’s words intertwined together, becoming a soothing melody even to Steve’s nerves. He could feel Thor slowly relaxing beside him. Even Clint, who had come to stand behind them, not game to come any closer, had started breathing easier.
Finally, Bruce began to blink. The blind terror faded somewhat to be replaced with a glimmer of recognition.
Tony was the first one to see it. ‘That’s right, big man. You know them. It’s Steve …’ he pointed while still keeping one firm hand on Bruce, ‘Thor … he rocked you to sleep last night, bud. Remember that? Do you remember that? Then Clint. He’s running you a bath, remember. And Natasha …’ his finger landed back on himself, ‘and Tony.’
Slowly, he did it over again, calling out all their names. He continued muttering them over and over again because each time he did, Bruce’s breathing got further back into rhythm.
That’s before he began to cry. These silent little gasps which felt like they were stabbing Steve in his heart each time he made them.
It got even worse when Bruce began to whimper softly, ‘S-Sowwy … no cwy, no cwy …’
Tony and Natasha’s eyes met for a second. Steve couldn’t see what but something strong was communicated between them before Tony lifted Bruce into his arms. Leaning the toddler on his shoulder, Tony cradled the crown of his head before pressing a kiss to his curls.
‘New rule,’ he murmured more to himself than anyone else. ‘Anyone gets angry at you for crying, there will be serious repercussions for that person. Serious ones.’
Bruce settled at the way Tony held him but still continued to sniffle.
‘Would this assist?’ Thor asked softly, holding out a packet of the pacifiers they’d bought.
Natasha regarded the gift before nodding. ‘He does seem to have an oral fixation. Just wash one first.’
Thor nodded and disappeared, soon returning with a bright green pacifier still glistening with droplets of water. He held it out to Natasha, making sure not to come too close.
Giving his arm a sympathetic squeeze, Natasha knelt back down next to Tony and Bruce. ‘Hey, kroshka. What do you think of having a pacifier?’
Bruce blinked tear-filled eyes up at her, becoming more fearful at the sight of the item. ‘I be good,’ he cried heartbreakingly. ‘I be good, p-pwomise!’
For once, Natasha wasn’t in control of her expression and shock filled her face. ‘No, Bruce, this isn’t … it’s not a … a punishment,’ she almost choked on the word and looked at Tony pleadingly for help.
Tentatively brushing a hand over the curls, as though terrified his touch was somehow going to damage the child, Tony swallowed audibly before gently nudging Bruce’s cheek with his nose to gain the baby’s attention.
He had it immediately and Bruce clung onto him with desperation.
‘P’ease, Tony, p’ease. I be good! I be good …’
‘Shush, shush, big man,’ Tony soothed him. This time, when he stroked his hand through Bruce’s curls, it was with more confidence. ‘You’ve done nothing wrong, okay? And you can never be bad so you don’t have to promise me different, all right? I know you’re a good boy, big man. Believe me, I know.’
Bruce’s bottom lip trembled though as he glanced at the pacifier again.
‘You don’t have to have that, short stuff,’ Tony murmured and with another quick signal with his eyes, let Natasha know to put it away, which she did immediately. ‘It was just an offer, all right? No one’s making you do anything you don’t want, okay?’
Bruce’s tear-filled eyes became wide with shock. Leaning close, he whispered something to Tony that even Steve’s ears couldn’t pick up.
Tony’s expression melted and his eyes crinkled with kindness as he leaned back to stroke Bruce’s hair. ‘Absolutely, bud. We can make that a rule too. No forcing pacifiers.’ He clicked his fingers in the air. ‘And such, the law is made.’
An unwitting smile came onto Bruce’s mouth, even though his lips were still trembling from his scare. It was one of the saddest things Steve had seen and hurt him done to his bones.
It embodied everything Bruce was as a person. Still trying to be happy through the sadness he struggled through.
The only indication Tony gave that Bruce’s reaction upset him too was a slight tremble of his hand which he got under control quickly.
‘Check it out, Brucie,’ he said softly, pointing to the shopping bags. ‘Steve and Thor got you some cool stuff to help us take care of you. How awesome is that?’
Bruce blinked wide eyes over at that. ‘Care of?’ he asked, forehead wrinkling adorably in confusion.
‘Yeah, care of you,’ Tony reiterated gently. ‘Because we are going to take great care of you, big man.’
‘Hey, Bruce,’ Steve called softly, taking a chance when he saw the toddler focus on him. He held up two overflowing bags. ‘Want to see what we’ve got?’
Bruce didn’t say a word but continued to cling to Tony’s jacket so hard that his little knuckles turned white.
‘Hey, Cap,’ Tony called. ‘Why don’t you and Thor tell him a bit about the day you’ve had?’
Confusion flickered across Steve’s face. ‘Um … okay.’
‘Of course!’ Thor jumped in and glanced pointedly sideways at Steve, showing he’d obviously gotten the message. ‘Well, I must say, our drive was quite grand. I have been in many chariots but I found this ride particularly smooth.’
Steve still didn’t get the point. But for the moment, all of Bruce’s concentration had zeroed in on Thor. When he saw the demigod wasn’t coming any closer at this present time, his grip began to relax.
So, Steve joined in, adding small details now and then to follow Tony’s instructions.
After a solid thirty minutes, Bruce suddenly sat up straight and pointed a finger at them both before smiling up at Tony.
‘S’eve and Thor! Same old!’ he declared, looking beyond thrilled.
Steve blinked in surprise while Tony smiled along with Bruce.
‘That’s it, bud! You got it.’
This time, when Bruce turned back, it was like he saw them properly for the first time since entering.
That’s when something fell into place for Steve.
Bruce must be getting confused with his old memories. Tony had been trying to get them to remind the baby of who they were by talking for a bit. Maybe the tones of voices were something which helped him?
Thor clapped him. ‘That is right, little one. Can Thor and Steve give you a present?’
The joy on Bruce’s face dimmed and he glanced up at Tony.
‘They’re good presents,’ Tony reassured.
Bruce’s soft, questioning, ‘Safe p’eseants?’ made the hairs on the back of Steve’s neck stand.
Just what had his teammate … his family … been put through?’
‘You bet, bud,’ Tony nodded firmly and folded a protective arm around Bruce. ‘Tell you what though? What if we go through them together?’
Never had Steve seen such open adoration, even as an adult, on Bruce’s face as he looked up at Tony in wonder, saying, ‘Oh, yes, p’ease, Tony!’
Thor, who had become a little heart-broken at the conversation, lit up at the response.
‘We have some wondrous things, little one,’ he said, sliding the smallest bit closer before sitting down.
Steve cautiously followed, watching for any reaction, but Bruce didn’t become any tenser. Though he did continue to watch them closely but Steve was beginning to realize that was probably a trait of little Bruce.
Big Bruce tended to do it too but he was just more subtle about it.
Thor took the first item out of his bag and gave it a gentle push across the wooden floor. A tiny smile pulled at the corner of Tony’s mouth when Thor didn’t outright hand him something but instead, did it in the way Tony was most comfortable with.
Tony plucked the item up, which was a plastic, purple turtle with green buttons, and held it in his lap along with Bruce.
The toddler watched it curiously but unlike any other child, didn’t attempt to touch it.
‘This looks pretty nifty,’ Tony muttered and pressed a button.
In response, the alphabet started playing with an overly cheery voice singing it.
Bruce jumped a little but gasped when he realized it was coming from the toy. ‘How’s it doing that?’ he asked, staring up at Tony.
Tony’s grin grew more. ‘Electronics, Brucie, are magical stuff,’ he said, pressing another button, making ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ start up.
Bruce gasped again and even bounced a little.
This time, Tony couldn’t hold back a warm chuckle and Steve felt him. The soldier was practically glowing at the reaction as everyone else was too. Natasha sat on the couch arm, one of the softest looks on the previous spy’s face as she watched the interaction. The tension had gone out of Clint too while Thor was smiling brightly, looking more like the god of sunshine rather than thunder.
‘Why don’t you try it, big man?’ Tony edged the present towards the toddler.
Bruce curled his fingers into little fists and tucked them under his chin, as though it would burn him. ‘No touching,’ he said, looking up at Tony worriedly.
Tony frowned in confusion. ‘Of course you can touch it, Bruce,’ he murmured, running his hand over it to emphasize his point. ‘See?’
Biting his bottom lip, which jolted Steve because adult Bruce always did that when he was unsure or trying to articulate something, Bruce hunched down. ‘Me, no touch,’ he whispered, glancing up at Tony with fear like he had somehow upset the engineer.
The brief feeling of warmth fled Steve. The sickness felt like it was going to become a permanent fixture in his stomach.
Tony regarded Bruce silently for a moment before he leaned forward, whispering in Bruce’s ear.
Whatever was said, Bruce stopped worrying his lip so much. Still though, he looked unsure.
‘Make a mess,’ he breathed, like it was a crime simply to say it.
Tony’s eyes took on a determined glow. One Steve recognized a lot whenever he encountered something he was determined to overcome with Bruce.
‘Check this out, Brucie,’ he said before waving Natasha forward.
She got the cue.
‘Come here, honey,’ she murmured, lifting him into her arms.
Bruce whined immediately at the distance but Tony stood and ran his hand over Bruce’s curls, saying, ‘Don’t worry, bud, I’m staying. I’m just going to show you something, okay?’
Getting a nod after a few seconds of contemplation, Tony stepped over to where Steve sat with the remainder of the bags. The engineer snatched them up then proceeded to dump the contents all over the lounge room floor. All packaged toys, bottles, clothes, shoes and anything else Steve and Thor had found, strewn everywhere until there was hardly any room to walk.
Bruce’s mouth dropped open again, watching Tony in horror before glancing sideways at the three other men.
Steve’s heart dropped lower as he realized the toddler was waiting for one of them to actually hurt Tony to stop him.
When he was done, Tony glanced around himself as if job well done and exaggeratedly dusted his hands. Then, he held out his arms, presenting the whole room to the gaping toddler.
‘See this, bud? I’ve made a mess and not a single bad thing has happened to me.’ Tony slowly spun around to emphasize his point before facing Bruce again, expression never losing its warmth but also firm in his determination. ‘And nothing bad is going to happen. And do you know why?’ He pointed to the three men watching the scene in part concern and pain. ‘Because not one person here is going to hurt you. I can personally promise you that.’ Tony kneeled in front of Bruce, holding one hand on his chest, where his arc reactor used to be. ‘Okay, Bruce?’ he said, voice going soft. ‘I promise you.’
Something about Tony’s own faith in them made Steve’s heart swell. It was one of the first times he realized how far Tony had come since he’d first met the man who pushed everyone away just in case they would turn away from him in the future.
Bruce watched Tony silently for a moment. Then, a tear spilled over on his cheek.
‘I don’t …’ he sniffled, scrubbing at his eyes with small fists. ‘I don’t unde … unde … and … unde’s’and that.’
Which was Bruce talk for that he didn’t understand how because he’d never had anything like it.
Tony watched him for a moment, eyes flickering with a myriad of emotions. Slowly, he held out his arms to Bruce who didn’t think twice about burying himself in Tony’s chest, little hands clinging around his neck.
‘Don’t you worry, Brucie,’ Tony murmured, pressing a kiss into the curls, closing his eyes as he took a shaky breath, ‘because I’m going to help you to understand. Okay?’
The only sound was Bruce’s crying for a while. Then, a tentative little word.
‘Pwomise?’
Tony didn’t hesitate, wrapping his arms around Bruce like he was protecting him from the world.
‘I promise, big man. I promise.’
***
Clint had seen some pretty adorable things in his life. Lila head-banging to Goth metal because she was his sweet, quirky princess. Cooper writing him a superhero theme song on his toy piano. Nathaniel’s gummy smile every time Laura crossed her eyes.
One of the sweetest things had to be though a miniaturized Bruce Banner toddling after Tony Stark like a duckling who had imprinted on him. One stumpy hand gripped onto Tony’s silk pants as his adopted older brother led him through the mess of presents Steve and Thor had gotten for the toddler.
‘This one looks cool, Brucie,’ Tony would announce, crouching down to examine something, Bruce peering curiously over his knee. Only once Tony had investigated the item, removed it from the packaging and handed it over to Bruce did the toddler attempt to touch it and even then, it was tentative.
‘That’s for you,’ Tony would say after each one, smiling kindly down at the little boy, brushing a calloused hand over the curls.
Bruce’s reaction of pure surprise and gratitude never dimmed through the whole proceedings. After every single one, he thanked Thor and Steve like they had gotten him gold.
If the toddler didn’t have every single person in this household wrapped around his finger before, he most certainly did now.
When Tony found some Iron Man themed clothes, he burst into laughter. ‘Okay, who got them?’ he asked, brandishing them in the air.
Grinning softly from his spot on the floor, Steve put up a hand.
‘Aw, Cap, I’m flattered,’ Tony gasped dramatically, hamming it on for Bruce, who watched Tony with this increasing adoration each time he goofed off.
The love the toddler had for him was practically palpable.
The thing touching Clint though was the feeling was so obviously mutual. Tony was endlessly patient with the toddler. Even with the way he kept on accidentally tugging down Tony’s pants as they walked; Tony simply kept a firm hand on the waist of them, never once correcting Bruce because the toddler would take it as a rejection of his close presence.
Clint had always known Tony liked kids. He’d seen the small amount the genius interacted with Cooper and to an even smaller extent, Lila. He was just afraid of doing something wrong but it by no means meant he didn’t care.
With Bruce, Tony simply loved him right back, even if a lot of his actions were tainted with concern.
Right now, he was cautiously brushing a hand over Bruce’s hair, holding up the shoes, saying, ‘Look, short stuff, it’s me.’
The confusion on Bruce’s face was priceless as he looked back and forth from the image of Iron Man to Tony as though trying to see the similarity between the images.
‘Tony?’ he asked and Clint was never going to get tired of hearing the huskiness of his tiny voice.
‘Yeah. Well, me dressed up as Iron Man,’ Tony explained, obviously pretty proud of sharing this fact.
At Bruce’s growing confusion, Tony began to tread cautiously, ‘I kind of do superhero work in my part time.’
Bruce looked like Tony had just told him Santa Claus was waiting outside the door with a lifetime supply of presents.
‘You a … a … superhewo?’ he gasped, the ‘s’ of superhero having a bit of a lisp to it.
It also cemented the realization Bruce hardly remembered a thing of his older life other than their names. He only knew them through feeling and even that had taken a while to engage after his older memories kicked in.
Tony actually went the closest thing to shy he’d ever gotten as he murmured, ‘Well, yeah … I guess.’
‘Oh, wow,’ Bruce gasped, looking back at Natasha, who nodded seriously along with the statement to confirm it.
Her reaction seemed to confirm to the toddler he could speak to her.
‘Tashi,’ he whispered, as though divulging a huge secret, pointing at Tony, ‘superhewo.’
Natasha’s smile melted onto her face. ‘It’s pretty cool, isn’t it, lapushka?’
‘Actually, we all are,’ Tony put in.
Clint suddenly found himself on the end of the wide eyes of a toddler whose world had just been blown away.
‘That’s right, squirmer.’ He playfully nudged Steve with a foot. ‘He’s the old man of the group.’
Steve threw a glare over his shoulder but he really should have been used to the teasing now.
However, the super soldier’s frown lost all power as Bruce tentatively clapped him, saying nervously, ‘S’eve c’ever. S-Steve is vewy c’ever.’
‘Aw, it’s okay, sweetheart,’ he reassured tenderly. ‘Clint was just being silly and teasing. But thank you. I think you’re very clever too.’
Bruce blinked in shock at the complement. Then, an actual blush flushed the toddler’s chubby cheeks and he buried his face in Tony’s thigh.
Warm, soft laughter filled the room at the reaction.
‘And adorable!’ Steve added with a grin.
‘We’re all going to get sick from the sugar.’ Tony gently pulled Bruce into his arms, still extra cautious with him as he playfully blew on the toddler’s neck, gaining a surprised giggle.
‘Now that is the sweetest sound I’ve heard for a long time,’ Thor lit up at hearing the laugh. Clint realized it was the first time both Steve and Thor had heard it as they smiled at the embarrassed toddler.
Bruce peeked up at Tony. ‘Sick?’ he asked worriedly.
‘Bad joke, big man, don’t worry about it.’ Tony cuddled him close for a moment before going back to searching through the stuff.
Clint hated to break up the party but he couldn’t help note how Bruce began to rub at his eye as he nodded.
It had been a long day already and it wasn’t even lunchtime. If they wanted to get him settled, they would have to do it soon before he got too over-tired.
‘How about you pick out some clothes to wear for your bath? It’s all ready.’
Tony got the hint while Bruce tensed at the thought of choosing.
‘Tony?’ he asked plaintively.
‘On it, big man. I’ve got great fashion sense.’
When Tony had grabbed an Iron Man onesie, along with extra Thor-themed socks and stood, Bruce shrunk behind his leg unsurely.
‘What’s up, big man? Not a fan of the bath?’
Bruce bit his lip, watching Tony for a moment. Then, he slowly held up his arms for Tony to carry him.
Tony shot Clint a look which was purely terrified at the thought of walking with the child.
‘Trust yourself with him,’ Clint mouthed. ‘I do.’
Tony stared at him as though he was insane before glancing back down at Bruce. Who was tentatively starting to lower his arms, honeyed brown eyes filling with tears.
Without a second thought, Tony gently hooked his hands underneath Bruce’s armpits and pulled the toddler up into his arms. As soon as he was there, he quickly rearranged his hold so he was cradling Bruce’s head with the other hand placed underneath the baby’s backside.
‘I’ve got you, Brucie,’ he whispered and on automatic pilot, brushed a kiss over the baby’s head. ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got you. Sorry I was so long there. My mind just wondered. It won’t happen again.’
Bruce snuggled into Tony, little shoulders relaxing being back in the older man’s arms.
Not saying a word, Steve slipped forward and cleared a path for Tony through the wreckage of packaging.
Tony breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Thanks.’
Steve gave a two-fingered salute, smile soft. ‘Don’t mention it.’
Holding himself awkwardly, obviously afraid to jolt Bruce, Tony followed Clint at a much slower pace.
When they got into the bathroom, the problem became evident pretty quickly.
Bruce would not want Clint to do the bath; on top of it, he didn’t want to be out of Tony’s arms with how much he was clinging now after the brief scare of Tony not picking him up straight away.
Before Clint could even ask the question, Tony shook his head, mouthing, ‘No way in hell.’
‘You’d do fine,’ Clint whispered.
‘It’s not happening,’ Tony shot back, just as softly. ‘I’ve got no idea how.’
‘I’d teach you.’
But even as he said it, he could see Tony was reaching his limit on his faith in his abilities. The guy had been doing amazing so far but it was like the idea of being the one solely responsible for Bruce near water was one step too far for him.
Still though, that didn’t mean Bruce was going to be any happier about Clint being the one responsible.
Tony came to the same conclusion as he did. He glanced once at the half full bath then sighed.
‘You mock me for this one, I’m putting Iron Man murals in every single room of your house,’ he muttered.
Clint had no idea what he was talking about until he kicked off his shoes. Then, he clicked.
‘I wonder if I should take a photo? You know, just to capture this—’
‘Every room, bird brain. Every room.’ Then, Tony patted Bruce gently on the back to gain his attention. ‘Hey, bud? I’m just going to get Clint to hold you for like, two seconds. Then, I’ll take you straight back, okay?’
Bruce did give a few cries but it seemed more in tiredness then him being scared as Clint took him off Tony.
‘There we go, squirmer,’ Clint sang in a slightly off-tune voice, bouncing him gently from side to side, patting the toddler’s backside. ‘Going to get all squeaky clean then naptime, huh?’
‘Mary Poppins, you ain’t,’ Tony muttered. He considered losing his shirt for a moment but then glanced once at Clint before dismissing the idea and taking off his socks instead.
It wasn’t that Clint had never seen Tony shirtless but he usually avoided it, self-conscious of the scars left there. It was times like these in which all teasing went out of Clint and all he wanted to do was hug Tony. To Clint, scars weren’t something to be ashamed of but to be proud of. It was a very part of you and literally made up who you were, emotionally and physically. Who shouldn’t one be proud of that?
Though, he knew now wasn’t the time to talk on Tony’s body consciousness. Instead, he rocked a sniffling Bruce as Tony climbed into the bath, fully-clothed. Clint couldn’t help but notice him give a soft sigh of relief the water only came up to his waist and nowhere near his chest.
Making a mental note of that, Clint leaned over to hand the toddler back to Tony.
‘Hold your arms to cradle him,’ Clint instructed. ‘That’s it, yeah, just like a baby. It’ll be easier to wash him like that.’
Tony took Bruce into the cradle of his arms tentatively, looking down at the squirming bundle with an unreadable expression. When Bruce realized the transfer and blinked teary eyes up at Tony, settling down, Tony stared, as though mesmerized.
‘There you go, Bub-Bub,’ Clint murmured, reaching over to strip Bruce of the oversized sweater. ‘Back with Tony. You’re all good, see?’
Bruce blinked at the sudden darkness then light again after the shirt was pulled over his head. Tony didn’t say a word but just continued to watch him closely, chestnut brown eyes quick and alive, but somehow overwhelmed as well.
As Clint began to clean the toddler up of all the grime and dirt from the initial transformation, Bruce whined. He squirmed further into Tony’s hold, one hand coming out to grip onto a set of Tony’s calloused fingers.
A sharp intake of breath from Tony had Clint pausing, glancing at his old mate to see if everything was okay.
For a moment, Tony was expressionless. Then, the skin around his eyes crinkled with such a kindness and his mouth lifted up in a breathless smile.
Gently, Tony ran a thumb over Bruce’s little fingers.
It wasn’t the first time Clint realized Tony was smitten with his little brother. But it was the first time he’d let it show so openly in front of Clint.